Janitor On Duty

November 16th, 2008

10:23 PM

Two things I'm wondering at the moment

Should I put a link to this blog on my website?

The reason I didn't all this while is because I am not too fond of all that drama that inevitably happens when this blog becomes well-publicized. You know what they say, every blog comment thread that spans more than 30 comments inevitably becomes unreadable because any "discussion" that lasts that long usually consisted of name-calling, pointless nitpicking over a word or phrase in order to get the last word, or off-topic meta-discussion that has nothing to do at all with the original topic. I'm not as democratic as the likes of the ladies at Dear Author - I will close any blog comment thread that becomes too unruly or unreadable. And that will lead some people to go, "Oh! Censorship! You can't take it! Whatever!"

I like the current "quiet" of my blog and I'm not too keen on seeing that end should I put a link to this blog on my website.

At the same time, let's face it, all you need to do to find this blog is to Google it. This is not a top secret blog. The blog stats indicate that there are many people lurking without commenting, so I don't think this blog is that obscure. Putting a link to this blog is like putting a sign board over a very obvious trail, plus it will do away with all those emails from people asking me where the blog is.

Should I review novels that are considered classics?

I'm currently itching to write something about Wuthering Heights. I've also been re-reading books written by long dead people because I'm currently experiencing a little bit of romance slump. Don't expect "girly" books to be reviewed though, my taste in classics lean towards Joseph Conrad, DH Lawrence, RL Stevenson, Jules Verne, Sir Arthur Conon Doyle, and some authors that were considered old-school "sci-fi" or "horror". Wuthering Heights, The Secret Garden, Pearl S Buck, and To Kill A Mockingbird are actually anomalies in my list of preferred reading material.

But at the same time, reviewing classic novels is like taking on the masses - I doubt some people will be so sanguine if I apply the hammer to their beloved classics... (Seriously, if someone asks me today on what they should put on their blogs, I'd say, unless you have very thick skin, stay away from doing reviews. You can insult the genre using broad statements, you can criticize the genre to your heart's content, and still people won't be mad until you specifically single out a book, ie doing a review of a book instead of ranting about the genre. If you rant about the genre, you're an activist. If you review like I do, then it gets personal and you're the meanest of the mean. Soft-hearted people, stick to standing on soapboxes, heh.)

To the ten people following this blog, heh, what do you think?

PS: I'm going to be doing a massive update in the music reviews section within the next few days (having shamefully neglected to do so for months), but quickly put, when it comes to putting out an instantly catchy CD, David Archuleta beats David Cook easily. Seriously, David Cook, what is with all that generic emo rock crap loading that CD? Come back, Chris Daughtry - all is forgiven.

13 comment(s).

Reader #1 reporting in: I think your comment box is still so freaking tiny I can hardly believe it.

Other than that, I'm indifferent to the classic book reviews, but I'm a bad person to ask since I'm generally indifferent to most book reviews, unless I have a particular interest in the book (or I edited it, lol). Linking on your main page? I guess it depends on what you're looking for. If you want more blog traffic, then yeah, you should. If you don't care about blog traffic then it doesn't make sense to link it.

November 16th, 2008 @ 11:02 PM

Posted by Mrs G:

I can't do anything about the comment box, I'm afraid. I've nicely sent a list of suggestions to Bravenet when they asked a few months back, and increasing the size of the box as well as the allowed word count are among my suggestions. Who knows, maybe one day they may actually take those suggestions to heart. I'm not the only one who had told them in the past that the comment box is too small to be of practical use!

classics, yes. i picked up sister carrie -- sucked. i picked up Justine and other collected works of de Sade with an open mind -- essays good, stories, beyond epic suck. Haggard's SHE? suck suck suck. Lewis's The Monk...I still like. Hard Times? Bravenet doesn't have any exponential font options for me to indicate level of suckage. But, then, most of those aren't romances. I think the closest would be The Monk. Could not get into James' Wings of the Dove (although I love the movie).

link - you'd just have to fix your web page again when you delete the journal for the 811th time

I actually recently just found your blog again (I know, I should have used my brain and asked Google for it...but anyway)...I really missed it over, goodness...however long it has been gone (or at least gone for me). Perhaps there are other like me who have missed it, and a link on the site would be appreciated.

Regarding the classics...I'd say go nuts, while you may get the fanaticals, you will also spark some interesting discussions.

I miss the interesting conversations that happened when more people knew where to find the blog, but I don't really miss the flamewars -- and it's not my blog. And I'd rather see not see you get sufficiently stressed by the nonsense that you go awol for a while.

Well, I lost track of where you were blogging and just tracked you down. If people want to find you, they can figure out how, so whether or not you link to it, that's your call. As long as I know where to find you, I'm happy.

Regarding classics...*G* man, I'd love to see your take on some of the classics. Bring it on!

If you didn't want anyone to find it or to associate it with you, you'd call it something else, wouldn't you?
Classics? Don't go there, unless you want to break into academe. Really, some professors make the average romance fangurls look like amateurs. You can if you want to, but there are so many critical essays and books that one more isn't going to make a lot of impact.
Have fun. It's your blog, do what you want. Make it clear it's your personal opinion and go for it.

I don't mind reading the Mrs. Giggles take on classics. Just don't sound like my college English papers, 'kay. Might give me nightmares.

As for linking, it all depends on how much traffic you want. You're very fun to follow, you know. I think, even if you don't link, if you throw out a couple more drinking game challenges, they will find you.:)

Comment box: freakishly small. But what can we do!
Classics: why the hell not? This is a blog, *of course* it's your personal opinion. No need to state it.
Linkage: meh. Do what you want but you don't need the links for folks who want to find you from doing so.